POLICE and firefighters were called to a report of a gang of youths starting blazes in a residential neighbourhood with hundreds of firelighters they had stolen from a lock-up.

Station officer Danny Bowen described the area around the Parade, Blacon, as looking 'like down town Chicago' when they arrived on scene just before 7pm on Wednesday.

'There were lots of little wee fires in the middle of the street,' he said. This first call was to the rear of The Parade where children had piled up dozens of firelighters against a rear shop entrance. They were about to light the pile when a member of the public dialled 999.

For more than an hour fire crews were run ragged trying to keep on top of these kind of antics. In another incident the hooligans who had stolen so many firelighters they 'were shovelling them up' had tried to set light to a shop by pushing them under the front door.

They were lighting them near vehicles and there were even reports of them being thrown at passing cars and on to the roof of Holy Trinity Church in Norris Road.

Station officer Bowen said: 'It could have lit up absolutely everything. The dangers are horrendous. If there are half a dozen of them they will light a car; or a house if they had pushed them through a letter box.'

The fire officer said police were called and discovered the hundreds of fire lighters were coming from an unlocked shed.

He said: 'The county police found where they were coming from and confiscated a large quantity from an insecure lock-up. Whether they had stolen them and put them in there or whether it was a lock-up belonging to a retailer I don't know.

'The advice we are going to give is for shopkeepers to ensure they keep flammable items like firelighters secure from theft.'

Incidents like the ones in Blacon are likely to escalate in the run-up to bonfire night with neighbouring stations like Ellesmere Port starting to see a number of cases in their area.

Mr Bowen said: 'It usually kicks in around this time now. This is a very busy time for firefighters with children on our streets. I would say to parents do you know where your kids are and what they are doing?'

Police are understood to have taken a number of names of youths suspected of being involved in the incidents.

If you can help police with their inquiries please call Chester police on 01244 350222.